On Wed, 27 May 1998, Niels Hald Pedersen wrote:
> I havent checked the XFree86 source either, but I dont think cli/sti-ing
> is the major problem. 1) FWIW, modern programmers are typically very
> cautious not to have long (in terms of time) stretches of code cli'ed,
> as this causes all kinds of trouble elsewhere in the system. 2)...
This is true. Linux implements interrupt handlers, for example, by simply
setting a flag that states that the interrupt has occured, and returning
(thus re-enabling interrupts) as quickly as possible. The kernel process
can then deal with that interrupt request when it is next scheduled. It
really is *that* big a deal to have interrupts disabled.
I agree that it is unlikely to be sti/cli-guarded blocks that is causing
the problem.
Pete
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